Running Wild in May

Like many families, our family runs crazy in May.  This year is the first year that those runs have actually been timed.  Both Talia and Eli ran track for West, whether at the middle school or high school levels.  Here's Talia getting ready to competing in the 3200.  Oof, that's a lot of laps around the track!

She did great but was understandably exhausted.  So glad Dad's got your back!

Next up, Eli in the 1600.  This boy is so speedy!  He cut 15 seconds off his PR in the last race and finished with a sub-6:00 mile.  Cheeze Stik, you fly!  Congratulations.

Back in our neighborhood, Brooklyn, Annika, and I went for a short hike off Bonneville Boulevard.  The May flowers are so pretty!

Wanting to soak up as much time as possible with my gal before her mission, she and I also went to BYU Women's Conference where we met up with her friend Kacie.  Her boyfriend Henry joined us for dinner as well.  Fun day!

While taking FrontRunner home from Salt Lake, we learned that my Dad was still struggling to breathe and was being admitted to UNMC hospital with multifocal pneumonia.  While I felt the hand of the Lord helping him get the medical attention he needed (the only reason he had an appointment with his PCP was because of a sebaceous cyst that wouldn't heal), I also felt a strong need to be there to help if I could.  I felt grateful for my nursing education as I put on my "nursey pants" and gave my Dad a short list of potential labs for him to bring up with his physician (a high school acquaintance) during this appointment.  In the end, it was the elevated D-Dimer and cloudy Chest X-Ray that caused his Dr. Liu to call him back on a Friday night and ask him to go to the emergency room.  There was concern that he could have a pulmonary embolism, which CT fortunately ruled out.  However, as his oxygen sats remained low, it became obvious that the pneumonia was severe, despite his not having a fever or elevated WBC count.  Thank heavens for antibiotics!

And so, I found a flight on Frontier, spent an uncomfortable night on the floor of the Las Vegas airport, and made it to Omaha to be with my folks.  Being at the Med Center was strange.  It's located just a mile and a half from our old home, right across the street from the start of the Field Club Trail that I used to run all the time.  Yet in all our time in Omaha, I never once crossed the road and jogged through the campus.  It felt like an entirely different world that I wasn't a part of.  Now I take selfies in front of stethoscopes as if I belong.

My Dad does NOT like being in hospitals, but he was a trooper and handled his incarceration well.

Free at last!  After getting set up with oxygen therapy at home (2L at rest, 6L while moving), my Dad grabbed his drill and oversaw the planting of the flower beds.  Glad I could be there so at least he wasn't struggling up and down with his bum knees too!

Papa Kay's yard is always so beautiful. The moment we knew Dad was REALLY sick was when he enlisted help to mow his lawn.  It's likely that he's been walking around with pneumonia for a long time, so unfortunately it will likely take a long while for his lungs to heal.

This beautiful bush was planted in honor of Grandpa Grandpa.

Besides being in Omaha for my Dad, I wanted to be there for my Mom as she was right in the middle of IB testing.  Since he couldn't help proctor, I was more than happy to step in.  What fun for the students to test in such a glorious space!

My trip to Omaha was short.  Once Dad was nicely settled in back home, I looked for another Frontier "GoWild" flight back.  (This ultra-discount fare can only be booked the day before.)  It meant another night on the Vegas airport floor with the dinging of the slot machines, but at least I made it to Nebraska and back for a little more than $200.

While I was in Nebraska, it snowed in Salt Lake--like a lot.  That's May weather for you!

The family also went to the Wasatch Arts Showcase to celebrate Annika's artistic creations for the year.

While the showcase was great, it was also kind of a bummer since someone hit our van and didn't even leave a note.  Boo.  Car Nuisance #1.

Now for Car Nuisance #2.  Right after I returned, I got a frantic call from Brooklyn.  Her 2005 PT Cruiser had broken down on North Temple, right in the middle of the construction zone with no shoulder and only one lane of traffic each direction.  Fortunately some good Samaritans helped her push it to a safe spot.  When I made it down to help her call AAA, I immediately noticed the special spot.  There's something about breaking down directly in front of the temple that helps you fret less and Think Celestial.

Now I have to say, while special in terms of being sandwiched between the Conference Center and the Temple, this spot is also just half a block away from where I got rear-ended in an accident that totaled the van just a week before Annika's cardiac arrest.  It'd be okay with me if our family does't have any more special memories here.  Hoping to avert Car Nusiance #3.

As for the Cruiser, it wasn't the timing belt, transmission, or engine as we feared.  Instead, it has something to do with the idle sensor.  To fix it, they need to swap out the computer motherboard, but the part is not being manufactured anymore and they couldn't find one at any junkyards.  It remains TBD whether or not the car can be fixed.  Technically, it's drivable, but only if you drive two-footed and never let up on the gas.  Not a winning strategy, for sure!

On May 9th, Jason and I celebrated our 21st Anniversary.  Swamped as he is at work, Jason slipped away so that we could enjoy a delicious parillada lunch for two.  Thank you, Peanut Butter!  I love you.

Mother's Day followed right behind our Anniversary.  Thanks to Jason, Justin, and Charles for making all of us moms feel so special with your delicious barbecue!

The roses Jason brought me are just stunning.  Gracias, amor.

During the next week Eli's photography got recognized at the State Reflections Contest.  Felicidades, Eli!

Eli's landscape photograph was difficult to see because it had been printed so small, but this painting from his classmate Angela Zhou was displayed in original and beautiful.

Plus, they a snow cone bar.  Perfect for the warmer weather.

I'm so glad Eli's still a kid at heart.  You're amazing, Easy E!

Other May memories: going for a long ride with friends in preparation for Little Red.  From left to right we have Julie, Amy, and Sarah.

Jason rode up City Creek with me as well, at least as far as the water treatment plant.  The gate was closed beyond due to a major reconstruction project.

Brooklyn hiked the Bonneville Shoreline Trail with her ma.  The flowers are so pretty!  It's fun to see how they change as different varieties bloom. 

At first I thought these were sego lilies, but I just looked up images online and suspect I was mistaken.  Can anyone identify?  Regardless the name, they are lovely.

This "trail" is actually the alley behind the Wilhoit's home where we captured an adorable Pickles who escaped when the gate was opened.

And here we are at the Taylorsville Temple Open House.  Not quite as magnificent as Manti, but the wait to get in was blissfully shorter.

Wrapping up with one final photo of Annika in her nest, just in case anyone was wondering if her sleep habits have changed at all.

So yeah.  Not quite caught up to the present, but marvelously close.  Now I really MUST stop procrasti-blogging and dig in to the day's tasks.  Happy Monday, all!